When I was six years old and my father was in a terminal condition I was sent off to stay with a rather forbidding maiden aunt who lived in Scotland. I was sent to the local junior (elementary) school where I was strapped on the hands every monday morning because I hadn’t attended church on sunday (my Dad was a staunch atheist.)

If ever I talked in class my teacher, Miss Parthorn(?!) told me it was because the devil was sitting next to me, tempting me to chat to other children and commit various other malfeasances. Even then, at the age of six (thanks to my dad) I was pretty sure she was wrong and that there was no-one sitting next to me but I know she wanted me to feel like the kid in the etching at the top of this posting.

These creatures do not die like the bee after the first sting, but instead grow strong and become immortal once infected by another religious fanatic. So, my friends, we fight not one beast but legions that go on age after age after age, feeding on the suffering of innocent children.